- “Per capita income is a better measure than “wages.”
Says who?
Average Swedes earn more money than average US Americans. Because of this, they drive better cars, have more living space and can afford to travel more etc, etc.
“Purchasing power parity (PPP) is even better than that.”
- GDP/Capita by PPP is a recalculation of nominal GDP/Capita. Again, this measurement does not acknowledge the fact that Swedes HAVE LESS EXPENSES THAN US AMERICANS (Swedes can use a larger percentage of their pay for sheer ‘consumption’ than US Americans). The GDP/Capita by PPP measurement make nations with comparatively low levels of taxation look rich in comparison to economies like the Scandinavian ones, basically because sales taxes are very high in the Nordic countries (around 25%). The GDP/Capita by PPP measurement fails to recognize that Scandinavians actually get something in return for paying high taxes (free university education, low cost health care and so on).
Of course, one might argue with the traditional Swedish stance on welfare and taxation issues out of ideological reasons, but this doesn’t alter basic economical facts.
Personally, I think most kind of taxes could be lowered in Sweden as our economy today is exceptionally strong. Fortunately, our present (Conservative led) government thinks so too.
Simply put. Would you rather earn $50000/yr. in a place where homes cost $300,000 or $40000/yr. in a place where homes cost $200,000. That’s the difference in PPP.
You are wasting your time trying to explain. Some people here believe that the US is richer/better/smarter/etc in every category than every country in the world without exception and that any data that disproves that is false.